Eating Healthy & Cheap

I thought we had put this topic to rest a couple of years back, but yesterday I was told emphatically that it is difficult for the poor to eat healthily by someone who is not poor and has not tried to eat frugally for many years.  The media say, “It’s hard” and without personal experience to contradict it, is believed.

By previous posts, I have demonstrated how a family can eat healthy food frugally. Now that it is mostly me, I’ll show how one person can do so. I will post daily for the next week my menus and cost of food. Photos and recipes as I have time.

Sunday:

Breakfast: Fancy English Breakfast tea that I bought at T J Maxx a month ago, is .10 a tea bag. Oatmeal (1 cup dry-0.15) with 1 Tablespoon Nutella (.13) and 1/4 cantaloupe .25. Total cost: .63

I keep the Nutella in my drawer at work and bring in the oatmeal. I mix it with hot water in the work kitchen.

Lunch:

Can of soup-$1.19 and hot chocolate made with 8 oz Almond milk (0.31) and a 1.4 oz melted chocolate bar (.40) Cost of lunch– $1.90.

Dinner:

Homemade Thai Chicken and vegetables (this recipe made three servings): 3 chicken breasts (2.25), 1/4 clove of garlic(0.7), onion (.25), 2 carrots (.33). 3 celery stalks (.33), 1/2 crown broccoli (.70), 13.66oz can coconut milk (1.29), red curry paste (1 oz. at .88*), pre-cooked wild rice packet (1.79.) So each serving is $2.63.

Thai Chicken

Total cost of food for Sunday $5.16.

*all food purchased at Aldi and prices from receipts unless noted otherwise. Red curry paste was from Shop N Save and if memory serves was about $3.5 for 4 oz.